3 Scandinavian Nations Advise Against Traveling to Lebanon

Smoke rises after Israeli army shelling on Umm Al-tut village, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon, 19 October 2023. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Smoke rises after Israeli army shelling on Umm Al-tut village, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon, 19 October 2023. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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3 Scandinavian Nations Advise Against Traveling to Lebanon

Smoke rises after Israeli army shelling on Umm Al-tut village, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon, 19 October 2023. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Smoke rises after Israeli army shelling on Umm Al-tut village, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon, 19 October 2023. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Denmark, Sweden and Norway have further tightened their travel advisories for Lebanon and cautioned against travel there until further notice.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Thursday that Norway was “tightening the travel advice due to the serious security situation in the region. There are daily military actions on the border between Lebanon and Israel. This increases the risk throughout Lebanon.”

Denmark's Foreign Ministry said the security level in Lebanon had been changed to red.

“Staying in Lebanon entails a very high security risk,” the ministry said. It “strongly encouraged” Danish citizens in the country to leave.

Barth Eide noted that flights were still available from Beirut but that “at short notice, it may become even more difficult to leave Lebanon.”

Sweden's travel advice was updated late Wednesday.



Lebanon's Speaker Sets Jan. 9 Date to Elect President

FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
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Lebanon's Speaker Sets Jan. 9 Date to Elect President

FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri set a Jan. 9 date for lawmakers to elect the country's president, the state news agency (NNA) reported on Thursday.
Lebanon has not had a president or a fully empowered cabinet since October 2022 due to a power struggle.

Israel's offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon had prompted a renewed bid by some leading Lebanese politicians to fill the two-year-long presidential vacuum.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the US and France, allowing people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting.

Berri has said that, once there's a ceasefire, he supported the election of a president who doesn't represent "a challenge" to anyone.

The presidency is decided by a vote in Lebanon's 128-seat parliament. No single political alliance has enough seats to impose its choice, meaning an understanding among rival blocs is needed to secure the election of a candidate.